Benefits of Alcohol - Summary
The latest studies indicate that regular moderate drinking improves heart health and mortality. Before we get carried away and drink, I would like to present some letters on this issue sent in to the British Medical Journal (on-line, Dec 4, 2004).
Dr. Nehrlich (Australia) writes "the French Paradox may not be related to alcohol intake at all. There are a few people living in France who do not drink and it would be interesting to see their track record for cardiovascular disease." (He suggests comparing French non-drinkers to French drinkers to see if indeed the alcohol is the real determining factor). He notes that Eskimos eat blubber, The Masai have a fat milk diet, and yet these populations have no heart disease.
Dr. Hernborg (Sweden) reminds us that for decades it was determined by similar types of studies, that hormone replacement therapy reduces coronary risk by 50%, only to find later that the risk is increased.
Dr. Da Prato (USA) writes that maybe the French have less heart problems, but the excess drinking could very well lead to cirrhosis of the liver.
Dr. Moore (France) suggests that regular drinking typically involves wine, whereas binge drinking usually involves beer or "white" alcohol. He suggests that polyphenols (a certain type of chemical) in wine are the source of its benefits.
In summary, there are studies indicating that regular moderate drinking of alcohol provides health benefits, both in protection against coronary heart disease and also against dementia. However there are doubts as to whether all the confounding factors (factors that could change the results but may not be adequately known and accounted for) have been incorporated. In addition, women need to weigh the risk of developing cancer when consuming more that 6 drinks a week, against any potential improvement in their heart disease risk. Only time will tell how beneficial moderate regular alcohol drinking really is. All the authors stress that alcohol consumption beyond the limits in their studies can lead to severe detrimental health effects!
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Last Modification - March 11, 2011